My Dark Guardian
by SmexxiAnime115
Summary: Hinata Hyuga is called the gifted one who must be under watch 24/7. Her guardian, Sasuke Uchiha, is the only one who can carry the load, but for how long?
1. Wrath

My name is Hinata Hyuga and I have the most unusual abilities. I have been given the ability to control water, fire, earth, air, light, and darkness.

People aren't allowed to know about this, especially the ones with evil intentions. They're known to use others to reach a goal. I'm not so sure what that goal is, and I and don't really want to find out. My father doesn't want me near those kinds of people so he assigned me a guardian. He can't leave my side no matter what. His name is Sasuke Uchiha.

We Hyugas hold the power of light while Uchihas wield the power of darkness. As you can see, our clans are opposites, but we get along with most of the time. Sasuke makes me cry pretty easily… I think it's for his amusement.

Even in school, we have ALL of the same classes together. The only time we separate is if one of us goes into the bathroom or the locker room at school.

It sucks being me because I can't even tell my friends about my true self. I can't even hang out with my friends because apparently it's too dangerous for me to be out in the world without being watched closely. It's rare for me to fight but it hasn't been lately. Just in case I were to be attacked, my family has been training me mercilessly, especially my cousin.

My cousin, Neji Hyuga, is a prodigy. His light magic is unbelievably strong. There's no one in my clan that can beat him… besides my father, Hiashi Hyuga.

The evil people are called the tainted ones. The good people (with one elemental ability) are called the pure ones. I am called the gifted one. People like me appear once every five-hundred years. The last one was male and evil. I heard that he caused a lot of problems. He was executed on his 50th birthday. It was the Inuzuka clan that executed him. Their clan still holds a grudge against the gifted ones, although, Kiba Inuzuka doesn't seem to hate me at all. Sasuke is on super guard whenever Kiba comes near though.

Right now, my guardian is preparing to walk with me to school. He had a snarl on his face as he buttoned up his shirt. Uniform irritates him because he feels that there is no need for it but he looks good in it.

Sasuke has the most beautiful face I have ever seen. When I first met him, I was captivated by his beauty… but now I'm over it.

Sasuke has onyx eyes, his cheek bone structure makes him look elegant, and that pale skin brought out the colors of his dark eyes and hair. He has long eyelashes and perfectly thin eyebrows. There wasn't a hair out of place. And those lips of his make all of the girls go wild. Sometimes I get into the habit of watching them whenever he talks or eats. Sasuke gets mad and smacks me when he catches me staring.

Yes, Sasuke is beautiful, but I have my eyes set on Naruto Uzumaki. His personality is amazing and when I see his face I get all flustered. His determination is very strong which makes me like him even more. I've never spoken to him though… All I can do is watch him from afar.

Sasuke and I had to skip breakfast this morning since we were almost late for school. For some odd reason my alarm didn't go off. The Uchiha woke up about twenty minutes after it was supposed to ring.

The both of us made it onto school grounds just before the bell rang and the front door opened up. I sighed with relief as Sasuke tugged me inside the large building. That was when we were ambushed by Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka.

"Stop right there!" Sakura commanded.

Sakura is supposedly the prettiest girl in school. All of the male student body, besides Sasuke, goes crazy over her. I don't see why. She's a major bitch. She has long pink hair and her red ribbon keeps her hair from falling in front of her face. Sakura's green eyes hypnotize the boys, including Naruto, and they do whatever she says. Sakura is the captain of the Sasuke fan club and also the captain of the cheerleading squad. To add to the list of her absolute "attractiveness", she is also super skinny.

"Yeah. Spend some time with your lovers, Sasuke." Ino agreed.

Ino Yamanaka is the heir to own the flower shop her father runs. She is also known as the second most beautiful girl in the school. Her long blonde hair travels below her waist and she wears it in a ponytail all of the time with shorter hair covering the right side of her face. A red barrette holds even shorter hair on the left side of her head so it won't irritate her. Ino is the vice-captain of the Sasuke fan club and the cheerleading squad. She is also super skinny but Sakura is skinnier. Everyone knows she copies whatever Sakura does.

"Ugh. Go away." Sasuke groaned.

It was every day that he was stopped by these two.

"Just come play with us Sasuke." Sakura flirted.

My "sexy" guardian rolled his dark eyes. He grabbed my hand and forced his way through the skinny girls. I just hope that they don't think Sasuke and I are a couple or they'd kill me.

The classroom was practically empty today and we even had a math test. Our sensei didn't look very happy about the little population. The irritation showed on her round face.

"Hm… I wonder if Kurenai sensei will give us the test anyway." I said to myself.

Kurenai Yuhi is our math teacher. She pretty and our English teacher, Asuma Sarutobi, seems to have his eyes on her.

Her hair is long, black, and wavy. It come down to her waist. I'd say that her red eyes were abnormal but I have white eyes.

"Alright everybody." Kurenai announced. "Sit down and pay attention. Since hardly anyone is here today, I won't give out the test, so use this period to study for tomorrow."

I sighed in relief again. "Thank goodness. I didn't study at all last night."

"Idiot." Sasuke said.

"You didn't study either!"

"Don't have to." He tapped his head and gave me a smug expression. "Darkness allows me to memorize everything I learn. You should practice that. You'd be surprised at how much it could help you."

"Well you don't have to be so mean about it though. We girls are sensitive."

"Yeah. I know."

Yes of course he'd know that. I can't even count the number of girls who cried when Sasuke broke their hearts and through all of those times, Sasuke was completely emotionless. From time to time he gives me that look. Other times he looks at me like I'm stupid. Sasuke narrows his eyes, he frowns, and his eyebrows straighten. In fact, he's looking at me like that right now because I didn't answer a question correctly on the homework we were supposed to do last night.

"Idiot." He told me.

I laughed nervously.

My guardian smirked, but it faded quickly when his eyes were entirely engulfed by darkness. His head turned towards the window and the darkness faded away.

"What is it?" I asked.

"You're being stalked. It's a tall man. He can control fire and seems to be very angry about something that you did."

"He might be the same man that attacked me last week. I could've sworn I killed him."

"Well now you know that you thought wrong."

All I could do was pout at that rude comment, but I also worried about the tainted one's abilities. Once you knock a wielder of fire down, they get back up ready to burn whoever is in their way. I just hope Sasuke and I won't get injured too badly, or at all.

I felt someone staring at me from the direction of the window. It was the tainted one looking up from behind a tree from across the street. He wore all black with his hands tucked into the pockets of his black leather trench coat. His black hair is shoulder length and it covered his eyes. He's definitely a shady person. Sasuke will be cautious.

"Okay." Kurenai announced. "The period is over in five minutes so wrap it up everyone."

"Finally." My guardian said. "Let's leave early today, okay?"

"N-No way! Leaving will make no difference to the wielder of fire."

"You'd be surprised."

The bell rang for our next class to begin. Sasuke raised his left eyebrow (that means he's asking the same question again). To avoid that look, I walked out of the room with him following close behind me. Good thing he can't leave without me with him.

"Stubborn." He mumbled.

My guardian walked me all of the way to the gym for girls just to be on the safe side. He didn't plan on taking risks.

"We have to part here. We have gym."

"Fine, but if I hear any screams I'll come running to find you. Now is not the time to be calm with a tainted one outside."

"Yes, yes. I know." I groaned.

My guardian pat me on the head and strolled off to the boys' locker room.

When I turned around, I bumped into a tall man.

"S-Sorry." I said.

"Go change." He said in a strong voice.

He wore a worn out sweat outfit with many stains and some holes. He also had on a cap that also had holes.

"Right."

The substitute I suppose? He's kind of scary with all of those wrinkles.

I immediately went into the locker room. All of the girls were complaining about the substitute's attitude. To me, he seems hasty. I suppose that I should be suspicious about him since we never had a male gym teacher but it doesn't appear to be something that I should worry about. His personality is normal for an old man.

After all of the girls changed their clothing, we all went into the gym for our attendance to be taken. All of us lined up in a single file line. The teacher walked by us one at a time checking off our names… I noticed that he never asked for any of our names and I know for certain that none of us had him as a substitute before.

"Alright ladies." He announced. "Form two teams of ten. You're going to play dodge ball."

While everyone else cheered, I groaned. No matter what strategy I did, I **ALWAYS** end up the last one standing and most of the time the majority of the opponent's team is still there.

The creepy teacher blew his whistle, signaling us to begin.

Instantly, each of our teams rushed towards the five balls in the middle of the gym. At first, my side dominated by taking out six members, but it soon turned around since the four remaining members now had all five balls.

Without mercy, they all launched all five balls at us. Luckily, I caught a ball and blocked off any other balls that came towards me, but the rest of my team was unfortunate. It was idiotic for none of them to move from their spots. One ball alone took out three girls. The other six either got hit or tried to catch the dodge balls. That left me standing on the floor… alone. That went too fast.

My opponents now had three girls left since I knocked out one by catching a ball. Two dodge balls were on my side and my opponents each had one in their hands.

One by one, the girls threw balls at me and I easily dodged them. By mistake, I tossed the ball straight up into the air and it dropped down on one of the girls' head. I apologized to her before she left the court.

As one of the two remaining girls prepared to throw a dodge ball at me, I rushed for a ball lying on the court and threw it at the girl with the ball in her hands. It bounced off of her hip and hit her nearby comrade on the leg. In other words, I won the first round of dodge ball for my team.

My team giggled and cheered. They all rushed back onto the court for the next round that I obviously wasn't looking forward to.

The teacher blew his whistle, telling us to stop what we were doing.

His voice suddenly sounded like he was angry. "Let's play a new game." He said staring directly at me. That's when I saw who he really was in that disguise.

His eyes turned into the color that symbolized his element; red for fire. The outside of his body got engulfed by flames and when it died out, his face and body showed. The wielder of fire appeared before me with full intent to cause me harm.

The man who attacked me last week introduced himself. His voice still had much anger in it. "I am Wrath. You…" Wrath pointed to me with his long finger. "You almost killed me. Now it's time for me to put you through hell and then take you back with me to my master."

Before anyone could speak, nevertheless breathe, Wrath expressed his rage by sending waves of fire all over the gymnasium, hitting everyone and everything in the room. I protected myself with water shielding me from all sides. After that attack, my cool water was steaming.

I sent darts of sharp water at Wrath. It affected him at first, but he adapted to the pattern that I had no control of and made each dart evaporate with his intense heat. Water is useless in this situation, so I assumed that I should suffocate the flames with earth.

The flooring beneath Wrath is completely burned and destroyed. It's perfect for earth, but I have to blow the ashes away.

My white eyes locked onto Wrath's red ones. As soon as the wielder of fire lifted his hands, I moved and blew air at him. It caught the tainted one off guard, making him stumble backwards. The ashes moved and so did the hair covering Wrath's face. He has burn marks on both sides of his face. They looked pretty old and the sight made me gag. They were unlike any other burn I've seen before. He must've been burned by another person who had fire as their element.

Wrath's face scrunched up, symbolizing that he became angrier. Now is my chance to take Wrath out once and for all.

I placed my feet about twelve inches apart and I bent my knee slightly. My hands were out in front of me as if I was holding a box. As my hands and arms went up, the earth did too underneath Wrath's feet. It came up like a coffin and it enclosed Wrath inside.

Assuming that the battle was over, I sighed and left my guard down. All of the nineteen girls in the gym are still unconscious. It was a relief to me when I saw that they were still alive.

From behind me, I smelled something burning. Turning around as quick as I could, I saw the hard earth melting. Out came Wrath grabbing me by the neck and slamming me against the wall. His large hand got hotter and hotter. The hate in his red eyes also got deeper and deeper.

"St-Stop… Ugh… S-Sasuke… Ahh!"

Suddenly, Wrath went crashing down to the floor. Sasuke stood in front of me with his guard up at all sides.

"Stand up and fight a man." Sasuke said. I can tell just by hearing him that he wasn't going to let him hurt me anymore.

"Tsk." Wrath said. He burned through the floor to escape. We all know that Sasuke is way out of Wrath's league.

"Sa… Sa… Sa…" My throat was so dry.

"Shut up and heal yourself while I erase the memories of all of the girls who saw this happen."

All I could do was nod my head as I healed my throat with water.

Sasuke erased each girl's memory with darkness and replaced the missing pieces with false memories.

"I mean it this time Hinata. Let's go home."

"N-No…"

"'No' isn't an answer. We'll change our clothes and go home. You don't have a choice."

Sasuke's voice was serious. If I refused to go with him, then he'd dress me himself and carry me home. He sure did last time.

"Fine." I agreed.

My guardian smirked and went back to the boys' locker room.

Very soon we entered the lobby of the school together. The security is heavy here so I'm not sure as to how we'd get out. Judging by the glistening in Sasuke's onyx eyes, he has a plan.

"What're you thinking about?" I asked.

He smiled mischievously and answered. "Use fire to burn off our DNA on our finger tips to pull the fire alarm. I'll shroud us in darkness so that no one will see us. I won't show our identities until we get through the doors of the manor."

"… How are you capable of devising these plans so fast? It's kind of scary."

"Just do it."

Without another word, Sasuke's plan was set into fruition. It worked, obviously, and all of the kids and teachers exited the building along with Sasuke and me.

Everyone stood outside waiting while my guardian and I made our exit.

As soon as we got through the front door and revealed ourselves, my father stood before us with even more rage than Wrath. We're in trouble.

_To be continued…_


	2. Gluttony

The room where we receive most of our scoldings is in the meditation room. This room is mostly empty. It would be empty if it weren't for the ancient pictures hanging on the tatami walls and the huge potted incense in the center of the room that gave this room a sense of relaxation.

The incense's worth is in vain right now because my guardian and I are receiving our scolding for what happened in the gym, although it's Sasuke's fault. I have no idea as to why I'm here.

"Furthermore…" My father continued. "You're being a bad influence on Hinata, Sasuke. Teaching her things that only a criminal would do."

Sasuke and I were sitting on cushions. We were sitting on our knees with our hands resting on our legs and with our heads facing downwards. From the corner of my eye, I saw Sasuke grin a little. He must have found it funny that he taught me how to pull a fire alarm without getting caught.

"And Hinata!" My father added on.

"Yes sir!"

"How could you be so careless as to destroy parts of the gym? I thought you were more careful."

"Sorry father. I'll try to be more cautious."

"Good. Dismissed."

My guardian let me out first. Sasuke seemed like he didn't care about anything my father said. I'm just going to let it go since he'd get mad at me for even questioning it.

Out of nowhere, Sasuke smacked me on the back of my head. It hurt badly.

"You need to get stronger!" He scolded. "If you would've gotten really hurt, I'd be in trouble and you could've gotten kidnapped. Idiot."

My eyes began to water. Was that supposed to be his way of trying to cheer me up or his way of saying he cares? Either way, that wasn't right way to express your feelings.

"Sasuke… Why are you so mean?"

"He turned around to find me crying. Sighing, he grabbed my head and pressed me against his hard body. He doesn't hug me often.

"Stop your crying. Sheesh. You'd be able to take out a horde of tainted ones with those tears."

"S-Sorry…"

My guardian smiled nervously and he looked guilty. I guess he does have compassion.

We walked around the manor for a while. My favorite area is out back.

The hallway we were walking in lead outside. There is a pond with rocks holding the water inside. About ten yards away from the pond is a bamboo fence keeping our neighbors out and so they can't see the training I'm receiving.

A lot of butterflies came out during the day in this area and at night, the lightening bugs, along with fireflies, came out. I think Sasuke likes this part of the house the best too because I always catch him smiling whenever we come across it together.

The rest of the day went by slowly. We didn't go back to school and my father ordered me not to go tomorrow too. Sasuke had the biggest grin on his face since he didn't have to go either. No obsessed fan girls for the first time this year.

Our dinner started not long after seven. This was the latest we've ever eaten and once everyone got down to the dining room, we all saw why.

Our table is approximately six feet long. The food that our chefs cooked took up the entire table. We only eat this much on special occasions. Today there wasn't anything special going on so the food surprised everyone.

While everyone was surprised, Neji looked irritated. He's not a big eater and he knew that my father wasn't going to allow anyone to leave the table until the food was finished.

The household gathered at the table, gulped, and began to eat.

About an hour had passed and my father realized that it was impossible to finish it all in one night. He decided to donate the untouched food to a shelter and the food that was touched was to be saved for leftovers.

My father dismissed everyone from the dining room. Neji appeared to be the most relieved. The most he ate was one full plate.

I let myself fall on my bed. The soft, warm blankets helped me forget about the stomach pain. The dinner seemed to have no effect on Sasuke. He ate about six plates and he's still standing.

Sasuke made his bed because he didn't have time this morning to do it.

My guardian's stuff is on the right side of the room while mine is on the left side.

He caught me staring at him, so he smirked and stuck his tongue out at me. I laughed before I returned the playful gesture.

Neji, without knocking, came into our room. I don't think he knocks because he wants to catch Sasuke in the act of doing something… inappropriate. That won't happen… Most definitely.

"Hinata." Neji said. "I'm going to help you with your light magic in the afternoon."

"A-Alright… Why so sudden?"

"Better now than later, right?"

I nodded my head in agreement.

Neji glared at Sasuke before he exited.

"He's annoying." Sasuke said not caring if Neji heard or not.

"He means no harm."

"Hmph. Maybe no harm to you but Neji is out to get me."

It sounded silly. Neji isn't the type of person to hurt anyone unless he has to… but Sasuke _does_ have a short temper. Simply provoking my guardian can lead him to attack. If you're lucky, he'll walk away.

"I'm tired, so… good-night." He said.

"Oh, me too! Good-night."

I turned off the light since my guardian was already laying down.

Obviously I won't tell Sasuke because he has too much pride, but Neji's distrust upsets Sasuke. I think my guardian wants Neji to accept him, although, he doesn't show it at all. That stubbornness will not get him anywhere if he wants to grow closer to Neji.

-x-

I hit the ground hard from blinding light. My cousin, Neji, offered and smiled brightly. Returning the smile, I accepted his hand. I had almost forgotten how strong he is. The power of light is no joke, especially when Neji is the one using it to his full potential.

Sasuke watched Neji and I practice from the pond with his arms crossed. His eyebrows furrowed as Neji's palms glowed brightly as we started the session again.

My cousin's palms came at me mercilessly. I am not permitted to use any other element but light because the one training me is a wielder of light. The only things I can do against his blindingly fast palms are block and dodge.

There is an opening every so often but it's still difficult to strike. I decided to go for it anyway though.

I leaned backward slightly and launched my hands towards Neji's torso. From there, I was able to push my cousin down with a blast of light.

Sasuke was surprised by my progress because a few days ago, I wasn't even able to touch him. It made me happy to see that look of amazement on my guardian's face.

From the ground, Neji smiled at me and said with pride "Good."

I think I had to goofiest grin on my face because Sasuke's amazed expression turned to a frown.

"You've worked hard Hinata." Neji praised. "Go take a little break."

"Okay."

My guardian was about to come along with me but he was halted by my cousin's voice calling him. Sasuke remained outside as I went off to the kitchen for some water.

From the outside of the kitchen, I heard the sound of plates crashing and clanking together and also the sound of metal pots and pans hitting the wooden floor.

I peered around the corner and saw a large man eating our leftovers in one gulp. He licked the plates clean once he finished a meal. Once he licked the plate clean, he tossed the dish across the room. It is a mess in the kitchen. The staff is nowhere in sight either. Hopefully they ran to go tell someone about the intruder.

The floorboard I stood on made a creaking sound. The sound wasn't even louder but the man turned around to see me staring from the doorway.

He sniffed with his big nose and licked his lips with his long, thick tongue. His eyes shined with happiness when he noticed me. It was as if I was his next meal…

"Wh-Who are you?" I asked. My legs trembled with fear. They were paralyzed from the fear of death.

"Gluttony… Say… You smell delicious."

I flinched. No way could he be serious.

"Would you mind if I eat you!"

My legs gained mobility as I ran down the hallway back to where Sasuke and Neji were. For a large man, he ran pretty fast. Gluttony destroyed everything in his path just to get to me. Is he really going to eat a human?

The trembling on the floor stopped. I looked back and Gluttony wasn't there anymore. I didn't even notice that he changed direction. What made him leave?

From where I stood, I was able to hear Neji and Sasuke's conversation. It sounded like an argument.

Neji said "Do you think you are a good influence for Hinata? You are terribly disrespectful and violent."

"So? You think you're any better? Ever since I became Hinata's guardian, you've been watching me all of the time. Is it because I have dark magic? I may be dark but I am not evil."

"That's not what I am trying to say."

"Then what is it! Why are you always on my case! What are you so afraid of?"

The conversation ended and the tension rose. I decided to step out before things got physical.

"Why are you arguing again?" I asked.

Neji and Sasuke darted their attention to me. I suppose the conversation was something I wasn't allowed to hear.

"Let's get back to practicing." Neji said to avoid the question.

"We can't. There's a tainted one named Gluttony wandering around the manor who likes to eat people."

"Eat people?" Sasuke repeated. "I've never heard of one like that. Maybe none of us should go alone."

"Are you scared?" Neji mocked. "I thought you were a guardian."

Sasuke rolled his eyes to avoid another argument. To get away from my cousin as soon as possible, my guardian grabbed my hand and tugged me inside. Neji went to the other side of the manor where all of the lesser Hyugas stayed.

Sasuke and I walked stealthily through the rooms and halls of the manor. There is no sound, no hostility, no disruption… Sasuke began to have doubts about the tainted one's intrusion. He looked at me as if I told a lie.

"Hinata…" He huffed.

"I swear he's in here… somewhere."

Just then, Sasuke's eyes were engulfed by darkness. He faced behind me. It faded and let him go back to his normal appearance. My guardian stood like a stone wall in front of me. I suppose Gluttony is on his way.

"Don't Sasuke! You'll get injured. He's huge."

"Shut up and find Neji! He'll protect you." He suddenly became angry.

"No! I'm not leaving you with-"

Out of nowhere, Gluttony came charging into Sasuke. I was most certainly caught off guard but my guardian wasn't.

He held Gluttony firmly in place even though Gluttony charged like a wild bull with only one thing set in mind. The death of anyone who gets in his way.

My guardian knew there was no way to get him off of him with strength, so Sasuke's eyes turned black from darkness. Streams of black smoke came out of Sasuke's arms and into Gluttony's nose and mouth. Moments later, the large man collapsed onto the floor. Some of the floorboard broke and sent fragments of wood flying at my guardian's legs. It tore his skin open a little and blood flowed out but not much.

Sasuke rubbed his shoulders from holding the heavy tainted one for so long. It put a strain on him.

"Th-Thank you so much" I said. "Are you okay?" I was trembling since I was so worried about Sasuke.

"Whatever. I'm fine."

We heard a deep inhale, then exhale. Gluttony looked up from the floor with eyes hungrier than I have ever seen. He stared intently at my guardian's bleeding leg. His thick tongue flopped wildly as he charged for Sasuke. His large, thick teeth sunk into Sasuke's leg. My guardian cried out in pain. I have never heard him make a sound like that before. It made me sick to my stomach. I never want to hear that noise again.

My instinct kicked in when my white palms collided with Gluttony's head. I had to protect Sasuke. His leg is beyond recognition with all of the blood cloaking it and his pants were ruined. He held his injury with his teeth clenched and his face scrunched up from the excruciating pain. I know he wants me to run but that isn't an option. All I have to worry about is bleeding. If I do then we won't be able to escape and it's over for the both of us.

I stood firmly in front of my guardian. He can't speak but I know that he is cursing at me through his clenched teeth.

Gluttony readied his thick legs. Saliva came out of his mouth like a waterfall. His tiny eyes glistened.

Suddenly, with hesitation, Gluttony came at me with full force. I didn't realize how strong he truly is when I got thrown across the hallway and ended up by the pond. Before I landed, the large man grabbed me by the arm and slammed my body on the ground. The impact left me temporarily paralyzed from the neck down.

Gluttony hovered over me with the saliva flowing out of his mouth.

He licked his lips and leaned in close, getting ready to take a bite out of my neck. Sasuke called my name a couple of times before I gained the ability to move again.

I slammed my elbows into the ground. Two masses of earth lifted up and smacked Gluttony in the head and torso. He stumbled off of me. It seemed to take a toll on his body.

"Hinata!" Sasuke called. "Hit in the head as hard as you can. He seems to be weak there."

My palms glowed white. Gluttony is left wide open since he became dizzy from the earth I hit him with. I mercilessly attacked his head. The large man yelped from the pain. He was unable to do anything as I stroke his skull with consecutive thrusts.

As I attacked the tainted one, my palms became darker as the desire to kill the tainted one became stronger. The goal is to kill the tainted ones but even this is too brutal for me. I would never attempt to make anyone die slowly no matter if they were evil or not. In this case, I _really_ wanted Gluttony to suffer.

His cries got louder as I pounded on the same spot over and over again. The screams satisfied me. The urge to murder the enemy got stronger and stronger. I heard Gluttony's skull crack but I kept going.

"Stop!" Sasuke shouted. It sounded more like a plea. He looked shock at how I handled Gluttony. When I saw him make that face, the urge disappeared.

Gluttony pushed me away and sunk into the earth. Another tainted one escaped.

That didn't matter right now. I rushed by my guardian's side. I healed his injury with the power of water. His face softened and his muscles relaxed. His legs looked good as new.

I braced myself for a scolding or for Sasuke to hit me. Instead, I received a warm hug. He buried his face into my neck. I noticed his body was hot from angry like it always gets when I do something stupid. Why isn't he punishing me?

I rubbed my guardian's back. I can't think of anything to say to comfort him at the moment. He's never gotten this upset with me before.

"S-Sorry…" I said. It's the only thing to come to my mind right now.

He responded. "Don't use dark magic. I'll help you tame it."

"Okay. I'm so sorry."

My guardian held on tighter. I didn't mind. I actually liked the hug. It's been so long since I've had a hug from him.

Neji came soon after the fight to find Sasuke holding me. He said nothing. The field is evidence enough.

Neji scoffed and said with a snarl "The tainted ones, huh? What are we getting into?"

_To be continued…_


	3. Gifted One's Love Letter

School… I was enjoying my one day vacation too… somewhat. Gluttony messed it all up. So far, since the fight with Gluttony, every tainted one we encountered ran away. I just hope they won't band together and try ganging up on us. The bright side of yesterday's story, Sasuke is completely healed. There is no sign of injury and he is walking just fine. It's a relief that water can perform miracles like that.

Here on my school desk, laid my love letter. I planned to give it to Naruto. My guardian helped me write it last night. I never realized how romantically poetic my guardian is. Too bad I'm in love with Naruto or I would have gone for Sasuke just like the rest of his fan girls.

The bell rang for the period to end. My heart raced as I left out of the room with Sasuke following right behind me. We both know Naruto is waiting at his locker for me which made me even more nervous. If Sasuke hadn't been standing behind me, I would have run the other way without turning back.

The letter is in my hands and held it close to my chest. My legs turned numb as we drew closer to the locker. I no longer had the desire to give my letter to him. It must be the fear taking over me. Last night, I couldn't wait to give him my letter with all of my feelings in it… now I want to tear it up and go on to my next class with my guardian.

As soon as I saw that blonde hair, I froze. My guardian raised his left eyebrow, questioning my action.

There is no way I can do it. I can't give it to him.

"Relax." Sasuke told me in a soothing voice.

Sasuke massaged my shoulders and pushed me in Naruto's direction. I looked back at Sasuke for reassurance. I felt like a little kid going to school for the first time. Naruto saw me coming. I tried to be as calm as I could.

"U-Um… Na-Naruto?" I bowed and held out the warm letter to him. "P-Please accept this."

I felt him take a step closer and I felt him take the letter from my hands. I looked up find him observing it with a cold gaze. Naruto didn't even bother to open it.

"You know?" Naruto said. I stood straight up to listen to him. My heart raced wildly with excitement to hear his answer. How foolish am I? "I saw you yesterday at home. Light and darkness, huh? You're the gifted one, right?"

"W-What? I don't know what you're talking about."

I don't know how but I felt Sasuke tense up. It certainly was unexpected to hear Naruto say that.

"When I was younger…" Naruto began. "Someone told me a story about the history of my clan. About five-hundred years ago, there was a gifted one who used his powers evil. He killed thousands of members from the Uzumaki clan for his own amusement. I was told that he enjoyed killing the Uzumaki clan because he thought it was foolish to be so hopeful for the future and he wanted to prove us wrong. When the Inuzuka clan finally executed that bastard, there were only twenty members left."

"… Oh, I see, but I'm not like that at all. I'd never do such things to people."

"You so sure? You never showed any mercy to that fat guy who broke into you house. Sasuke had to tell you to stop before you killed him. That sinister look in your eyes told me that you liked the fact that he was in pain and wanted to give him more."

"I-It was unintentional…"

The mood became so tense. He hated me for nothing. I'd **NEVER** harm someone lesser than myself for pleasure. Getting Naruto to understand will be troublesome.

"… You hate. I get it." I said in almost a whisper.

I began to walk to Sasuke. My heart ached. I don't want to think about Naruto anymore for breaking my heart but I simply can't do that. I still like him.

I stood in front of Sasuke with my head down. My body was shaking and I felt stiff.

"Next time he talks to you like that I'm stepping in. There's no need for an attitude like that." Sasuke told me. The seriousness in his voice reminded me of Neji.

Not until I was about to speak, I realized that I was going to cry. If I speak, the tears will come. Sasuke got the message. He took my hand and walked with me to the next class. Luckily we got there before the bell rang.

-x-

There Sasuke stood. We were on the field where we trained. His skin tight black muscle shirt showed his abs and arm muscles nicely. His baggy sweat pants emphasized the opacity of the creases in his muscles on his upper body. I admit that it even caught my attention. The dark presence surrounding him made him even more irresistible to me. Of course the presence wasn't sinister. It just told me he wasn't going to hold back. (Just like a villain.)

"Alright Hinata." My guardian said. "First, center yourself. Find the compassionate person within yourself so that you won't lose control."

Easier said than done. Thinking of all of the good things that I've done throughout my life for others goes down way deeper than I imagined. I can't remember the favors I've done for people that were the most kind.

Sasuke cut into my thoughts by saying "Remember that stray cat's tail that you healed after it got ran over by a car? You went to visit it in an alleyway by the middle school we went to and every day after school you went to see if it was doing alright even though you were extremely allergic. Also, remember the time we went on that field trip to the woods and we found that kid who was lost? I didn't want to help him because I thought it was a waste of time but you didn't think twice about helping find his parents."

After Sasuke mentioned those moments, I found peace within myself. My guardian saw it on my face too.

"Now…" He said. "Come at me."

My hands were engulfed by darkness. I thrust my palms towards my guardian. He easily moved out of the way. In fact, he dodged all of my attacks with ease. It got frustrating eventually. He chuckled at me as I struggled to hit him.

Suddenly, without even the slightest warning, Sasuke charged at me with darkness surrounding his fists.

Our hands collided. It became a test of brute strength. My guardian is obviously winning this battle. As we broke apart, I stumbled backwards. Sasuke came at me with a flying kick. I moved away swiftly, but I met a tree. Sasuke caught up to me. He stood pretty close with his hand on the tree and looking down upon me.

I could feel his breath and body heat. His onyx eyes locked onto my confused white eyes. My guardian looked as if he was thinking of doing something. I noticed he moved slightly inward, closer to my face, but then he walked away, ashamed.

"Come one." Sasuke said. "Let's continue."

Of course I listened but I couldn't help to not question his strange motives. Instead, he ignored me. He really didn't want to talk about it.

Darkness came out of Sasuke's palms. It wrapped around his hands and made it look like he was wearing gloves. It wrapped around perfectly while mine looked like an aura. That showed how much more control he had than me.

I braced myself as Sasuke came at me but then he disappeared. There was no sound either. Not only did Sasuke disappear using darkness, but he also muted the noises he'd make.

"That's cheating." I called out.

I could easily reveal his location using light magic but that's cheating since this is dark magic training. I'm not a cheater like Sasuke. He always goes for the most difficult tricks.

Taking a close look at my surroundings, I noticed that some things were out of order. Twigs were snapped, the dirt wasn't in the same pattern as earlier. It appeared as if something had been dragged across the dirt. Also, the air that brushed pass me had the smell of cologne in it. After carefully observing the pattern of the disturbances, I came to the conclusion that Sasuke must be going around in circles. All I have to do is catch the pattern.

The dirt shifted and Sasuke came towards me. I made myself invisible so he wouldn't pull any tricks.

I reached out and grabbed Sasuke's shirt. We became visible again as soon as I grabbed him. My guardian pulled me close to him and rubbed my head like I was a dog.

"Come on. Let's run five laps around the manor." He said.

I groaned and did what he said. This is nothing compared to my father's training routine. My father makes us run about twenty and we have a time limit. If we weren't on time then we'd have to do all of the dishes by ourselves. There's a lot from the amount of people living here.

The laps hadn't taken long. We laughed and talked with each other for almost the entire way. I almost forgot all about Naruto. I wish that I had but my feelings still stayed, although… I seem to wonder what he would've done if he hadn't known about me being the gifted one… and I also wonder what Sasuke would have done too. He's been acting affectionate lately. He is being more compassionate towards me than he ever used to.

Back at the manor, the air conditioner beckoned us to be near it. The air felt so good after running in the heat. To add to the delight of the cold air, the wooden floor is also cold. It felt so good.

"We'll run even more tomorrow." My guardian said.

"More? Are you trying to kill me?"

"Well…" He teased.

"Ha! Whatever."

I let myself fall back on the polished wooden floor. It sent shivers up my spine as hot and cold clashed.

Sasuke sat near me with his arms around his legs. He obviously had something on his mind. Yes, I was hesitant to ask, but I did anyway.

"What's on your mind, Sasuke?"

"Uh, um… nothing. Don't worry about it."

"You sure?"

He said no more after that. Curiosity took me over after but I knew if I kept pestering him, he'd definitely smack me. My head isn't looking forward to meeting his hand again.

"You stink." He said. "Go shower."

"Why must you be so mean?" It embarrassed me.

He laughed and even though it embarrassed me, I smiled.

Soon I began to smell the stink wafting around my nose. My face turned red as I dashed off to take an early shower. That made my guardian laugh harder.

-x-

My English homework was handed in late. Asuma Sarutobi gave me a disappointed face as he frowned. Even he could tell that I did during class. I heard Sasuke snickering from behind me. He's lucky that I can't say anything or else Asuma sensei will whack me on the head with a newspaper. In fact, the look he's giving me right now seems like he's going to smack me. At least it's because he cares about my grade.

"I'll sit down now." I told him.

Asuma just grunted as a response.

Turning around, I saw Naruto standing at the back of the room, glaring at me.

I put my head down and went back to my, still laughing, guardian. His cheeks were a little rosy from laughing for a while.

"It's not _that_ funny, Sasuke."

"Yes it is, Hinata. If only you saw your face."

I pouted and sat next to him. I tried not to look at Naruto.

"We're leaving in about two minutes." My guardian reminded me.

"Okay. Luckily there's no more homework to hand in."

"Science with Kakashi Hatake."

My mouth dropped. Sasuke laughed under his breath. He enjoys my suffering way too much.

The bell rang and everyone rushed out of the classroom. No one wanted to be late for Kakashi sensei's class. If you are, he'll send you out into the hallway with two buckets full of water and a mouse trap on your head. I know Kiba went out into the hallway so many times that he's gotten rock hard muscles and he can now last through the entire period.

"Sasuke."

We both turned around to find Naruto with the most serious face I've ever seen him make.

"Why do you stay with _her_?" He asked. It was as if he was comparing me to a worthless object.

"Because the Uchiha clan is meant to guard any gifted one who wanders this earth and I am also her friend."

"But she's a monster!"

My guardian did not want to hear that. Sasuke became consumed by rage. He charged at Naruto. They collided with the nearby lockers resulting in them having a large dent.

Sasuke had one hand on Naruto's collar and he was punching Naruto with the other.

Anger gathered up quickly inside Naruto. It looked as if his eyes turned red. It reminded me of a wild fox.

Naruto caught Sasuke's fist and sent my guardian soaring down the hallway. He landed near my feet with a huge bruise on his arm. I gasped at how an amateur could leave a mark on my skilled protector.

Students began to gather. Sakura and Ino were cheering in the crowd for Sasuke. Their squeals sounded just like pigs waiting to be fed.

Like a beast, Naruto walked over to my guardian. He crawled on top of my guardian. Uzumaki's fists collided with my guardian's face repeatedly. He wasn't going to stop either even after blood soon escaped from Sasuke's mouth and nose. Am I the monster or is he?

"Stop it!" I cried.

I tried pushing Naruto off. He didn't budge at all. He is very sturdy.

Naruto's rage directed at me. Uzumaki punched me in the gut and it knocked the air out of me. The strength was absolutely abnormal. My back hit the lockers. My knees hit the floor and I couldn't breathe. My lungs took the most damage from the impact. How could Sasuke take Naruto punching him the face without passing out?

My guardian tossed Naruto onto the floor. Sasuke rushed to my side. His warm hand rested on my back. His beautiful face had full concern all over it.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

No words came out They wouldn't come out. Not even air. I was freaking out and because of that, I had no clue what to do.

"Concentrate on the healing power of water magic. It's the only way." He whispered.

I felt the cool calmness of water wash over me. My air came back to me. I coughed and hacked. Sasuke's hand never left my back. His calm voice soothed my heavy breathing.

I let my head rest against Sasuke's chest. He stroked my head. I felt safe with him by my side.

Security guards came running down the hall. The students that were watching ran in all different directions.

Sasuke and my eyes met Naruto's. The red color faded and the remorse came across his face.

The guards tugged Naruto and Sasuke to the principal's office. They were going to take me too but Sasuke begged them to take to the nurse first.

The nurses diagnosed my breathing as normal and I was sent down to the principal's office. There, principal Tsunade told us that the three of us were suspended for ten days. Judging by looks, Naruto and Sasuke didn't care. I, however, feared what my father had to say.


	4. Sloth

The meditation room is the place where I do not look forward to go. The entire room makes me shiver and caused my heart to beat hard. No matter how old I get, I am always going to be afraid of my father's powerful voice when he's angry.

Sasuke was nonchalant as my father scolded him like he never did before. Even though he wasn't yelling at me, my heart pounded every time he took a breath. Each word after he took that breath got louder and stronger than the last. I think I saw the veins pop out of his neck as he got angrier from my guardian's nonchalant demeanor.

My father hadn't scolded me. He said that I've done nothing wrong and he's glad that I tried to do the right thing.

As we left out of the room together, my guardian rubbed his ears.

"Your dad sure can yell." He said.

"Y-Yeah…" I hadn't realized how shaky my voice was until I spoke.

"Calm down. It's not like he was yelling at you. I should be the one trembling."

"I know… Father is just so… scary. Doesn't anyone you know scare you?"

"Neji. He's got it out for me." He said seriously.

A small laughed slipped from my mouth. To me, Neji is not scary at all. He's the sweetest person I know.

I found myself staring at Sasuke. He took notice to my gaze and hit me lightly on the head. That was the softest hit I've ever received from him.

"Hinata." Neji called as he came out of one of the rooms.

"Yes?"

"Someone's waiting for you in the parlor."

For me? That's rare. I never get visitors.

I thanked my cousin then Sasuke and I went down to the parlor.

At first, we saw no one but then Sasuke tightly held my hand. His eyes quickly shifted with the coldest look to one of the chairs in the room. Soon, I saw a head of blonde hair sprouting from the chair. He stood up from the seat to face us. The surprise guest turned out to be Naruto Uzumaki.

The blonde boy approached us cautiously. My guardian looked as though he was about to pounce on him.

"Naruto?" I said. I felt pretty confused by his visit, especially since our incident today and hidden feelings, both good and bad, were revealed.

"I'm sorry." He said sincerely, bowing for me. "My behavior was out of line."

"U-Uh, um… Apology accepted." I am not used to being bowed to. I felt uncomfortable.

Naruto said to Sasuke "I'm sorry." He held his hand out for my guardian to take it.

At first, I was worried he wouldn't take it. His face was blank so I wasn't sure what my guardian would do. He's not very forgiving. If Sasuke does take Naruto's hand, then I know that he'll still dislike him deep down.

To both Naruto's and my surprise, my guardian let go of me to shake Naruto's hand. They smiled friendly at each other as they shook hands. I hope they will become friends. Everything will be so much more peaceful then.

"So, Hinata?" Naruto asked. "About that letter, would you like to hang out with me some time?"

I smiled as nice as I could even though I remembered how he treated the note when I gave it to him with little confidence. The cruel way he treated my delicate feelings is definitely something I will not forget and will take me a while to forgive. I'm still a little embarrassed. Despite feeling heartbroken I spoke kindly to the blonde boy. "Sorry, I'm not interested in you anymore."

"Oh…" I noticed that his voice cracked in his speech. "I see… So… I'll see you two some other time then."

We waved good-bye to each other. The closest guard let him out of the main exit.

"Maybe he is sweet after all." I said.

"If you call that sweet."

"Well… you sure aren't."

My guardian scoffed at that comment. He knows it's true.

Suddenly, Sasuke's eyes turned black but his head didn't turn in a particular direction. After the darkness faded, he seemed confused.

He didn't give me the opportunity to ask the question since he already knew what I was going to say. "I don't know what's happening in Konohagakure but I think people are falling asleep. My vision showed me people sleeping in the middle of the street and I saw the teachers and other staff sleeping at school. I don't know what's going on."

"Really? You think it could be a tainted one?"

"Most likely."

Never had I thought a tainted one could take out a whole city with magic. No one seemed that powerful. Well… at least the ones I've encountered.

"It's not just normal citizens as the victims. Pure ones are also sleeping." My guardian added in.

"What a pain."

So far, all of the tainted ones that caused problems were named after deadly sins. This one must be Sloth. Water is the only element that can cause slumber, so this must one must have the water element. How could someone so evil carry such a pure power? It's unfathomable.

"Do you think we can follow the source of magic?"

"That is probably the worst thing to do. It could be a trap. We'll lie in wait since all evil things seem to find their way to you."

I laughed nervously. With that being a fact, it worries me a little.

"In the meantime, I should help you with darkness. I don't want to see another scene similar to Gluttony's."

"If you're going to train…" Neji said. His voice scared me. He came into the parlor with a smirk on his face. "Allow me to join in. It won't hurt to step the training up a level."

Sasuke scoffed. "Me? Work with you? That is the most…" I cleared my throat and looked my guardian in the eyes. "… the greatest thing I've heard all day. You're so brilliant Neji. Let's get started right now."

The "You're so brilliant Neji" part was definitely meant to sound smart-ass. I hate when he does that. This is why he has no friends.

We gathered out at the usual training spot. Two against one. Both and Sasuke are highly skilled with their magic. Why are they doing this to me now? I'm not strong enough.

"You can only use light against me and dark against Sasuke. Do your best." Neji said. It's hard to think fast _and_ have control of elements that are the opposite.

My cousin signaled us to start. Immediately, I activated one element in each hand. Before I knew it, they were already coming for me.

My guardian performed a high flying kick. It just missed my face and he swerved behind me. Meanwhile, Neji glided down low and attempted to attack my stomach. Luckily, it was an easy dodge.

Neji came for me again down low. Another easy dodge, so I moved backwards away from Neji's strike but I forgot about Sasuke.

I looked back to get to Sasuke before he got to me but it was too late to move out of the way. My guardian's left fist met my right shoulder blade. It didn't hurt much but it knocked me off balance.

As I stumbled to catch myself, Neji came up behind me and hit my ankles. My face hit the ground. Now _that_ hurt.

"Are you okay?" They both asked in unison.

"Y-Yeah…" I responded wiping the dirt off of my face.

We didn't waste any time to get back to the session.

After I looked up from the ground, I had to do a double take when I realized that Sasuke had disappeared. Like the last time we trained together, I couldn't see or hear him. My guardian isn't going to take it easy on me this time. He's not moving in a pattern at all.

Neji stood in the background. His eyes were glowing a bright white like his magic. He can see Sasuke's location and movements but I can't.

Out of nowhere, I stumbled backwards and felt light-headed. I didn't know where that phantom-like impact came from. To try to trace the next attack, I put up a dark shield in front of me only. This shield protected me from any magic attack, so I'll be able to tell if Sasuke is coming from any other direction, besides the front.

The light-headed feeling came from the right side of my body, so I quickly sent a wave of dark sound waves in that direction. Sasuke reappeared next to me. He was kneeling on one knee with his head down. He should be feeling heavy due to the effect of the waves.

Quickly, I raised my left hand. I conjured light magic to it. Unable to stop himself as he came charging in, Neji ran right into my hand.

I smiled saying "I didn't forget this time."

A gentle thrust was all I needed to push my cousin back. He landed on his butt.

Sasuke snickered at him. Neji threw a pebble at him.

"Hyuga!" Sasuke shouted.

"You've got a problem? Get up and solve it. Oh…" Neji then laughed to himself at my guardian's condition. "That's right… You've been bound to the earth with your own element. How shameful."

"Bastard…" Sasuke mumbled.

"Guys!" I interrupted. If I let this continue, they'd go on forever. "I thought you two were fighting me, not each other. Let's continue."

Neji sighed as he got up from the ground. He released the gravitational pull that the darkness had on Sasuke.

My guardian snarled at Neji. My cousin returned the rude gesture. All I did was huff and they looked at me like I killed just someone.

"What? All I did was…"

"Not you." Sasuke said to me. "That."

He pointed at the sky behind me. Thick, gray clouds were rolling in abnormally fast. The clouds were bringing rain along with them.

"It's the tainted one's doing." Sasuke said.

Before it could reach us at the manor, I put up the largest, hottest (literally) fire force field around the manor's perimeter. If I put up a shield of any other element, the toxic water would sit on top of it.

It worked too. The rain evaporated before it even touched the fire. However, one drop landed on the fire. It didn't pierce through or extinguish the flames, but it was the **only** one to touch the force field which was rare.

Sweat beaded down my face and arms. It seemed to be raining over in our area only. Holding up the fire took a toll on my body. My palms began to burn already from the heat.

My guardian noticed the strain on my face. He wanted to help somehow but there is no way at the moment.

The rain didn't seem to die down and the tainted one was nowhere in sight. Without the tainted one in sight, Sasuke and Neji couldn't assist me. As I thought about the situation more, I came up with a plan. It will take a lot out of me but it is worth a try to protect everyone.

I had the force field shoot out fireballs at the clouds. The clouds dried up a little but with all of the moisture in the sky, they swiftly recovered. It's exhausting to keep up while exerting so much power.

My legs could hardly support me. They were shaking terribly. It kind of felt like being kicked multiple times in the knees.

The rain got harder all of a sudden and all of the drops touched the blazing flames. Steam rose up from the shield. I tried to raise the heat to save the shield, but I, unfortunately, didn't have enough strength.

My cousin and guardian gasped as the flames extinguished.

A headache overcame me. I couldn't feel anything on my body. The next thing I know, Sasuke had me in his arms. Neji stood in front of us. I looked in the direction that they were looking in.

It had stopped raining for sure but the water on the ground looked a little strange. It seemed like blobs of light blue jelly. It came together and formed a person. It was a woman. She yawned and stretched her out her arms. She seemed so… tired.

The woman observed her surroundings. As she did so, her body remained still and her head turned to her left and right stiffly. Her body was hunched over like she didn't feel like standing up straight and her knees were bent as if she couldn't support her weight, which is funny because she is skinnier than Sakura.

"Who are you?" Neji demanded.

Her tired blue eyes focused on Neji's.

This woman's speech was slow. She spoke slowly. It was somewhat like she didn't want to talk or even be here for that matter.

"My name is…" She yawned for a long time. "… Sloth." Her lazy eyes focused on me. "Gifted one… The wielder of all six elements… Come with me… Pride is waiting…"

"Pride?" I repeated. "Who's that?"

"My master."

"That's too bad." Neji said. "Hinata isn't going anywhere with you."

Sloth yawned loudly. She laid down on the ground on her belly despite the mud.

"Fine… You asked for it…" She said.

The ground began to rumble viciously. We all wondered why since she couldn't possibly have earth magic too but we soon realized water was rising up. It looked like water came from several different places.

The water Sloth conjured up smelled like sea water. The water had to have come from the ocean at the beach. There was so much of it.

Without thinking, I summoned a wall of fire. It hurt so much to do it that I yelped. Good thing it wasn't in vain.

I had my hands out in front of me because it hurt to touch anything. They were quivering. It felt like my hands were on fire. Do all wielders of fire feel this way?

My fire wall extinguished and Sloth's water evaporated.

"Stop it." Sasuke said. "It's hurting you."

"S-Sorry…"

"Neji and I will handle this one."

"He's right." Neji agreed. "This one won't have the chance to escape."

My guardian carried me to a safer place. I begged him to let me see the battle. He sighed and let me because he knew I'd be bugging him all day if he didn't.

I'd have healed myself a long time ago but using any type of magic hurt. I really want to fight with them.

Without any signs of hesitation, my guardian and cousin fearlessly faced Sloth. Her lazy eyes focused on their eyes. Hopefully they can work together without arguing about something stupid.

Sloth stood up. She hunched over and yawned again.

Sloth has brown wavy hair that is shoulder length. Her eyes are blue like the deep part of the ocean. She is skinnier than Sakura and also paler. This tainted one wore all black just like all of the other ones we've seen so far. She has on a large trench coat. The oversized coat looked like it could eat her in one gulp. She has on black, baggy leather pants and a simple black T-shirt that is also too big for her.

The tainted one slowly took a step forward. To be cautious, Neji and Sasuke took a step backward.

She smiled wearily and raised a hand. Water shot out of the ground right under their feet. They were able to dodge it in time. Sloth moved her hands like she was painting a picture. Her blue eyes focused on Neji. I'd say the fastest thing on Sloth's body is her eyes looking from target to target.

Her palm raised slowly in Neji's direction. She spread her fingers wide open, then, with surprising strength, she balled her hand back up into a fist.

Water circled around Neji's feet. It made its way up to my cousin's head. I gasped as I noticed the water morph. It was going to crush his head.

Immediately, I lifted up a hand to stop it, but then I realized that Sasuke was nowhere to be seen.

Out of nowhere, my guardian reappeared in front of Sloth. His entire arm was black. With that arm, he grabbed Sloth's boney face and slammed her down head first onto the ground. Her head landed harshly on the muddy ground as she laid lifelessly in front of my guardian.

The water from around Neji's body lost form and fell to the ground. I sighed in relief.

The two boys gave each other a high five. The battle appeared to be over.

They were happy from killing the tainted but then we heard snoring. Not too long ago the woman wasn't breathing.

The little pond nearby emptied. All of the water came out and shielded Sloth's sleeping body. Does she have the ability to fight while she is asleep?

Tentacles of water formed on the spherical shield. One of them whipped at Neji and Sasuke. They moved in time but I got nervous when that deadly attack left a deep dent in the earth.

"We have to take her out quick." Sasuke said.

"Yeah, I know."

The area where Sasuke placed me was near the two of the manor's glass windows. I shrieked and ducked when the windows broke and large amounts of water came bursting out of the manor. The water added to Sloth's shield making it bigger. The tentacles became bigger too.

Sasuke stood in the shade. Neji kept his distance as he stood out in the sun. They both drew energy from their element. My guardian's eyes turned black and my cousin's eyes turned whiter than they usually are.

The shadows gathered around Sasuke like an aura. It was like an endless supply of darkness. In groups, the shadows hit Sloth's shield. Only a few could pierce through it though. Some darkness almost hit Sloth on the inside.

Neji had the sunlight gather around him. Just like Sasuke, it was like an endless supply of light. Instead of the light hitting the water shield, the light restrained any tentacle that interfered and the rest went through and attacked the sleeping Sloth. Her defense fell and splashed everywhere. She sat up from the muddy ground and rubbed her eyes.

Just as my cousin and guardian were about to perform the finishing blow to the vulnerable intruder, Sloth escaped. She let the ground absorb her.

I was relieved that my friends were okay but for how long? All of them are escaping and we all know something big is coming. This "Pride" person that Sloth is talking about must be really strong. I hope that Pride doesn't decide to come to get me personally since the minions can't get the job done.

With the help of my clan, they used their light to wake up everyone in Konohagakure. After I recovered, I restored the manor to its former glory. I had not realized how damaged the land was until I fixed it. Sloth hurt our property more than she did Sasuke and Neji.

Sloth made me realized something though. For a gifted one, I'm pretty weak. To protect everyone is the number one job as a gifted one. I have to train harder… Even if it costs me my life…

_To be continued…_


	5. Journey to Sunagakure

About three months had gone by since Sloth attacked and Thanksgiving is a week away now. I had told my father about my problem with Sloth. He agreed that training here at home isn't enough so he's allowing me, and Sasuke, to go to Sunagakure. It takes three days by train, which my father suggests that we take.

Sunagakure is a sandy city. Literally. The buildings are made out of sand inside and out. The entire continent is a desert. I don't know about Sasuke but I do not do well in heat. I'm not so sure on how this is supposed to work.

My father told me that there is a pure one there that is my age. He's a specialist with the wind element. He is also the leader of Sunagakure. His name is Gaara. Gaara became the leader just recently. It makes me kind of nervous to know that I'll meet the most important person in Sunagakure even though he is just like everyone else. I wonder if I must act more respectful to him than I do to my father. If so, that will be quite difficult.

"What!" Kiba shouted at me. Everyone in the lunch room stared at him. "You're leaving Konoha! For how long!"

"For… one or two weeks… maybe?"

"Lucky." He pouted. "Want to take me and Akamaru with you?"

I laughed under my breath. "You're funny."

Akamaru is Kiba's dog. He is more than six feet tall when he stands on his haunches. He is a cream color and he has brown spots on each ear with a brown nose. It's not that I don't want to take him because he's big… it's hot and he'll be panting twenty-four seven.

Kiba has spiky brown hair and red face paint on his cheeks symbolizing that he's part of the Inuzuka clan. He is hyper and quick to fight. Akamaru is the same way, except, Akamaru has more common sense.

"I wasn't joking." Kiba said.

"Give it up, Kiba." Sasuke said. "Her father wouldn't let you come with us and I won't let you either. You act like a puppy."

"Whatever." Inuzuka scoffed.

My guardian and I left school early to catch the only train to Sunagakure. We had to sign out of school since we'll be gone for more than a week. I hope that we'll be back soon. I know for certain that I'll get homesick.

On the train, all of the female passengers were staring at my guardian. The female staff even gave him food and drinks for free. Sasuke doesn't like sweets so he gave them to me. That made me happy for the rest of the trip. I didn't like how the girls kept checking out my guardian though. I wished they kept their eyes elsewhere.

After the three day trip ended, my guardian and I decided to explore the unfamiliar city. The mansion we are supposed to go to that the Kazekage lives in is easy to find since we can see it from anywhere in the sandy city. There's no rush either.

The first place we checked out was the flower shop. It stood out from the rest of the stores in the area so we just stopped by to look. The flower shop has such beautiful desert roses. They reminded me of paintings. My guardian noticed me gazing at them.

"Do you want one?" He asked.

"Huh? No. It'd die on me quickly anyway. I can't keep plants alive."

"Well, we'll see what happens with this rose."

Sasuke bought me the desert rose for me anyway. I thanked him and sniffed the flower. It smelled unexpectedly sweet. Definitely unlike any other flower I smelled before.

The rose is white with a sandy texture on the petals. The stem and leaves are a frosty evergreen color. When the sunlight hits the flower, it sparkles just like the sand all over.

"Hinata." Sasuke called snapping me out of my daze. "Let's go to the mansion now. I don't want to waste any more money on flowers."

As we walked down the street together, the women and girls stared at Sasuke like he was a god. Yes, he is beautiful, but not _that_ beautiful. Somehow, in Sunagakure, Sasuke looks even more handsome. The sun makes his hair look glossier and the natural blue shine in his hair emphasized greatly. His long eyelashes appeared longer. His eyes also looked onyx instead black in this place too. No wonder the women were staring. Sasuke looks gorgeous.

My guardian paid no mind to the people. He looked straight ahead with his luggage in his hands.

Everyone in the town stared at me like I wasn't human… or like they could see right through me. The elders especially.

I found myself clinging to Sasuke's arm like a scared little girl. As if I wanted my guardian to protect me from the silent insults. He didn't seem to mind me holding him. He avoided the glares so I tried to as well.

The guards in front of the mansion took one look at us and let us through. Another guard escorted us to meet Gaara. My heart raced as we got closer to his office. Sasuke had no emotion on his flawless face so I couldn't tell how he was going to act. He just better treat Gaara with respect. He's making the same face when we go to see my father in the meditation room.

Our escort stood next to the door we were to enter. Sasuke went in first with me following close behind him.

Our eyes locked. My white eyes with his green ones. He has been expecting us.

Sasuke and I bowed. Gaara stood up and walked away from his desk. He told us to rise. We obeyed immediately.

"It is nice to meet you. I am Kazekage Gaara. You must be the gifted one, Hinata." He said as he shook my hand. "… And you must be her guardian, Sasuke Uchiha." He shook Sasuke's hand too. "Welcome to Sunagakure."

We smiled warmly at Gaara. Everything is just so clean here. The building is made out of sand and not even dust or sand lingered anywhere inside the office.

"We're honored to be here." I told him.

"I've got a question." My guardian said. Gaara gestured him to continue. "Where are we staying? We don't have enough money for a hotel or an inn."

"You can stay here. I have a room for you two."

The Kazekage pressed a button that was hidden under his desk. The guard standing outside the room came in.

Gaara asked kindly "Please escort these two to the reserved room."

"Yes, Lord Kazekage."

He took us both to the bedroom. The room is really beautiful. The first thing I noticed was the glass door with the royal purple curtains covering the door. The curtains are long and the ends of the curtains touch the floor. Behind the big glass door is a balcony. On the balcony are two a big potted plants and an iron railing that keeps us from falling off of the edge.

The carpet is burgundy with a black and white rug with the Sunagakure insignia in the center of the room. The walls are wooden and on the side opposite of the door is a picture of a boy standing on the beach. I think it's the first Kazekage but I'm not sure. I never paid attention in history class.

The sheets on the bed are silk and also burgundy like the carpet. The only problem is… it's a double bed. We've never slept… together before. The guard left out of our room before I got the chance to comment on the bed.

"Not bad." Sasuke said as he gazed at the bedroom. He took his luggage along with my own and put them in front of the closet door. He then sat down on the bed and I put my flower in a vase.

"Aren't you uncomfortable?" I asked. "We have to sleep together."

"Get over it. We grew up together. We're practically like siblings."

"B-But…" I became embarrassed. "I've always slept alone…"

"Hmph. Then it's time for you to _really_ get used to me."

I furrowed my eyebrows. That sentence just made me feel even more uncomfortable.

Sasuke decided that we didn't see enough of the city, so he dragged me outside to see the sights with him. The stuff they have here is amazing, although, what caught my attention is the anime store. They had manga, video games, plushies, T-shirts, DVD's, cosplay, and other stuff.

I begged Sasuke to go inside with me but he said no because I'd end up wanting something. Of course I protested and went inside anyway.

My attention wandered to the DVD's. There are so many here that I've never heard of. I wanted to try them all. (No way will I tell Sasuke because he'd be right about me wanting something with the money neither of us have.)

While inside the store, I bumped into a girl. She has the straightest hair I've ever seen. I think it's natural too. (My guardian isn't fascinated by this girl, of course.) She is abnormally beautiful too.

She has brown eyes and, like I said, long, black straight hair. Her skin is flawless, almost as flawless as Sasuke's. She has a natural innocence in her eyes. She has on all white. She has on a white sun cap, a white dress, and white sandals. Her cheeks turned red from seeing Sasuke.

"I'm sorry." I said.

"It's alright." She smiled at us. "I'm Luxuria. Nice to meet you."

Luxuria shook my hand. Once she held her hand out to Sasuke, he refused to take it. I bumped him with my elbow.

"I'm Hinata. This is Sasuke."

Her face dimmed and the innocence in her eyes faded. "Are you two a couple? You seem close."

I felt my face get hot. My gaze shifted to Sasuke. He is also blushing but not as much as me.

"N-No! We're, uh… H-He's my brother."

"Oh!" She said cheerfully. Her face brightened once again and the innocence returned. "I have a lot of siblings. Five of them. My father raises us."

"Hmm…" Sasuke said with suspicion. "I bet you do. Come on Hinata. It's boring here."

"Sasuke!" I scolded. "I'm sorry for his rudeness. Good-bye."

Luxuria waved good-bye as we parted. I punched my guardian on the arm as we got closer to the mansion.

"Ow…" He responded sarcastically.

He doesn't know how infuriating it is to have someone disrespect everyone you meet. Gaara is the only one he didn't do that to. Thank goodness he was polite to Gaara. I don't know what he'd do if Sasuke wasn't.

"Stop being rude!" I scolded.

People on the street stopped what they were doing to watch me scold my guardian. Even though I didn't do anything to those people, they seemed to fear me.

"How cold-hearted are you? Be nice to someone for once!"

"You're an idiot!" He yelled back. That surprised me. I don't know why but it made me feel a little guilty for yelling at him.

I stepped back timidly from his powerful voice.

My guardian sighed and remorse overcame his beautiful face.

"Sorry…" He said. "Luxuria is 'lust' in Latin. It's kind of obvious that Luxuria is a tainted one." He then blushed slightly. He crammed a hand into his pocket and the other rested on his head. "I guess making sure you're safe is starting to get stressful. It's confusing to tell whether people are threats or not, you know? I just want to protect you, Hinata."

That was unexpected to hear from the cold-hearted Uchiha. I just smiled to show my appreciation. I held his hand and we walked back together to the mansion. (I only held his hand because I hate it when the girls stare.)

We came back to the mansion to find Kazekage Gaara waiting outside for us. I never took notice to his features.

Gaara has a red tattoo of the symbol "love" in Japanese above where his brows should be. He has reddish brown spiky hair but it's not as spiky as Naruto's. He's also a little shorter than Sasuke and a little taller than me. Gaara's kind of adorable. Not many people look good without eyebrows either.

"I've been waiting." He said as we bowed. "Let's all go to the meditation room I created a special training schedule for Hinata while you are visiting this country."

We followed Gaara to the meditation room. We felt at ease as soon as we entered. I guess _this_ is how my father's room should make you feel. The atmosphere is completely ruined for me and Sasuke.

The floor is wooden and freshly waxed. Our reflections showed just like a mirror on the floor. The walls are wooden as well and vines and branches covered most of the walls. A large tree stood tall in the middle of the floor. There is a hole in the ceiling above the tree and it's showing the blue sky. The sunlight came through making the room look even more serene.

"How pretty…" I said.

It's a miracle how they got this tree to survive in the desert. It's the same kind of tree you can find all over Konohagakure.

I noticed that under the tree there is a rock, a bowl of water, and a candle. Gaara must've taken notice to my confused face.

He explained it to my guardian and me. "Hinata, you will sit under the tree. You will hold the rock in your left hand and the candle in your right. The bowl of water will sit on top of your head. This should help you tame all six elements at once."

"Huh?" I questioned him. "What about light, darkness, and air?"

He smiled at me. Sasuke scoffed and mumbled "idiot" under his breath.

Being the friendly and patient Kazekage that Gaara is, he answered me kindly. "The shade is the darkness. The sunlight shining through the leaves on the tree is light. The wind blowing in from the ceiling is air. Those three will be harder to tame since you can't hold them. You can only feel them."

"Oh…" I said. I felt stupid. "I see. Thank you for taking the time to explain."

I sat under the tree and held the items. My eyes closed so I could feel the elements better. From meditating, I could feel myself calming and having better control and understanding of the elements. My most troubled element, darkness, didn't seem so hard to tame in the trance. It made me feel at ease as I unlocked the secrets to each one.

Looking deeper into this state, I noticed something different. A new, unknown feeling. It feels kind of painful, yet, it gets my adrenaline pumping. Curiosity got the best of me so I looked deeper into this feeling.

In there, is a purple light. I tried to access this light but it shocked me. It shocked me so bad that my hand started shaking. An idea as to what the feeling exactly was came across my mind. It said "lightning". Is this a new element?

Without a warning, the lightning shocked me back into reality. I saw Sasuke and Gaara sitting across from me. They were puzzled by my facial expression. I guess I looked how I felt. Tired.

"There's an element that I have not learned yet. Does lightning sound familiar to you guys?"

_To be continued…_


	6. Lust

Kazekage Gaara handed me a paper. It had information about the only man who has the lightning element. We have to travel more because this man doesn't live in Sunagakure. His name is A. Yes, I know. His name _really_ is A. He is the Raikage of Kumogakure, so I'll just call him Lord Raikage or something.

Gaara suggested that we stay a night or two before we left to Kumogakure. We took the offer especially since it takes about five days to get there from here.

I realized something overnight… I am **NEVER** sleeping in the same bed as Sasuke **EVER** again. Not only is he a bed hog, but he also likes to hold onto things. I felt like Sasuke's life-sized teddy bear. At least **he **had a good night sleep.

I had been awake for a few minutes before my guardian woke up with me in his arms against his hard chest. I had become stiff from lying in the same position for a long time. I think I've been in his arms all night.

My guardian laughed at me and held on tighter.

"Sasuke!" I yelled.

He simply laughed harder and let go. He wore a large smiled on his face. He really is dark. Elements match their wielders' personalities perfectly, especially Sasuke Uchiha's.

"Hinata!" Sasuke mimicked.

Sasuke hopped out of bed and went into the bathroom to escape from me.

"I've already seen you naked Sasuke." I called as I banged on the door. "Going into the bathroom doesn't work."

"I know." He called back. "That's why I locked the door."

It's true. I tried getting through the door. I heard him laugh again. I'm going to get him good once we get to Kumogakure.

My guardian and I finished preparing to catch the plane to Kumogakure. The next plane is coming around four o' clock today. Right now it's ten o' clock in the morning.

Gaara summoned us to his office after we finished packing. The three of us sat down at the large round table in the middle of his room.

Gaara asked us "Have you noticed how the villagers' reactions to when you walk by, Hinata?"

I nodded my head. He doesn't miss anything, does he?

"Well…" Gaara began. "The previous gifted one used to rule Sunagakure. She treated the villagers like slaves and put them through hard labor. They had no power or control. Everyone feared her, therefore, they fear you." He cleared his throat. "The previous gifted one's name was Kimiko Hyuga which means 'noble.' Of course the Hyuga clan's signature element is light. Kimiko was a Hyuga; however, she was born with the dark element. With that power, she controlled most of the world." He stopped momentarily. "Kimiko was executed on her 50th birthday by the famous and heroic Inuzuka clan. Unfortunately, Kimiko's guardian still lived. He obtained immortality and still exists today. His name is Superbia."

"Superbia?" Sasuke repeated.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Superbia is 'pride' in Latin. Sloth said that Pride is the leader of the sins we've met so far."

"Yes, you are you right." Gaara said. "He still bears a grudge against the Inuzuka clan and still can't get over Kimiko's death. That's why I think Pride gathered recruits. I think he wants Hinata to replace Kimiko."

I laughed nervously. "You're joking right? There is no better guardian for me than Sasuke. Pride's time is over."

Gaara shook his head. "Hinata, you are Kimiko's descendant. You _were_ her five-hundred years ago. Therefore, there is still some of Kimiko's spirit in you."

"Whoa." Sasuke interrupted. "I wouldn't go _that_ far. Hinata is completely different. They're opposites."

"Mostly."

"Mostly?" Sasuke repeated. He was getting angry.

"Sasuke, calm down." I said.

"Whatever."\My guardian left the room. Gaara and I heard him stomp down the hallway.

"I am sorry for his rude outburst." I said.

"It's alright. I shouldn't have compared you to that monster, Kimiko. You are different."

"I thought the previous gifted one was a boy. All of the stories my father told me, he said the gifted one was a boy. Are you sure that it's a girl?"

"Yes. People often mistake her to be a boy because she achieved so much power."

That makes sense. I smiled kindly at the Kazekage.

"Promise me something, Hinata."

"Sure. What is it?"

"Promise me that you won't die and that you'll become stronger. Pride is coming to take you without mercy… I'll also come by to apologize to Sasuke."

My smile got wider and bigger. "You're a wonderful Kazekage, Gaara."

He blushed and looked down. The blush is really noticeable since Gaara's skin is so pale. Even though he is my age, I find him so adorable."

We shook hands and I strolled down the hallway to get back to the bedroom. As I was about to open the door, I heard something hit the wall close to the door in the room. My first thought was Sasuke punching the wall but he has respect for other people's homes.

I walked in the room to find a girl pinning Sasuke against the wall. Sasuke looked irritated while the girl seemed pleased. This has to be Lust.

Lust has on red lipstick, black mascara, and light brown eye shadow. As for her clothing, Lust has on an all-black leather dress. It's so short and her breasts practically popped out of the top of the sleeveless dress. She also has on long black gloves and black four inch heels. Her hair is still so straight and long. It stopped right at her waist.

"Hmm?" She said. "My father will be happy to see you, gifted one."

Words would not expel from my mouth. I'm still shocked at the scene that I'm witnessing. On top of that, Sasuke isn't saying anything or looking at either of us.

"Hey, Hinata?" Lust said. "Sasuke will make a great bed partner, don't you think?"

I soon found myself choking Lust without using any magic. I didn't think. I just moved. I already dislike this whore.

Instead of gagging or fighting back, Lust simply laughed at my attempt to kill her.

"How pitiful." She said.

She kicked me off easily with her painful heels. My body hit the wall. It didn't hurt because she held back. Once I got up, Sasuke came to me, concerned.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. Let me handle this. Don't interfere."

My hands glowed white. The element wrapped around my hands like gloves. The meditation really helped me control it a lot better but I know that Neji is still better at it.

Lust conjured darkness to her hands. The element also wrapped around her hands like black gloves. It's kind of hard to tell since she already has gloves on.

It was a bad idea to go after her first but I did. I thrust my palms at her one after the other. No surprised that Lust dodged the hits easily. Her smirk never left her face as she giggled at my inferiority.

To break the rhythm, and to knock that smirk off of her face, I morphed the magic into blades of light. That caught her by surprise as I slashed at her a couple of times. Lust then decided to morph her magic into two shields of darkness. My blades hit her shields hard and mercilessly but Lust didn't seem to let up. Instead, she smirked again.

Lust caught my blades between her shields and pushed me back. She charged at me. Her slim torso was wide open, so I did a roundhouse kick just in time before she could reach me or retaliate. Lust went flying out of the room and into the hallway. I went after the promiscuous tainted one.

She scrambled to her feet and ran down the hallway. Our magic morphed, once again, into blades as we clashed several times as we fought down the sandy hallway. Sasuke followed us.

We met the dead-end of the hall. Despite that, Lust and struck each other a few times. We appeared to equally matched but, of course I was proven wrong when Lust's strength bested mine.

Lust smirked and with a good hit, she punched me right in the jaw and I went soaring out of the window from the second floor.

I heard Sasuke call my name.

I groaned when I hit the ground. I landed on my back. Luckily nothing broke… I cursed at myself when I remembered that I could have cushioned my fall with air. I feel like an idiot.

Lust jumped from the second floor and landed on top of me. How can she move so well in those shoes?

She aimed my face with the blades she quickly conjured up. I swiftly moved my head each time she struck at my face. To get her off before she succeeds, I elbowed her in the face. She got off and held her nose. She stopped smirking after that.

My guardian came outside to watch. I know he wants to help but I won't let him unless things get too crazy or unfair.

The villagers watched in terror. The elderly stayed indoors, men stood on the sidelines as if they were about to jump in, and women ushered their children inside the closest building to them.

The promiscuous tainted one grew angry. A black ominous aura surrounded Lust. Her brown eyes turned completely black. She's like a different person.

I bit my lip as sweat beaded down my face. Light magic isn't good enough. I'll have to use all of my elements.

Her speed increased a significant amount as she ran after me. This needed to end quickly. If Lust planted even one hit on me, then she'd never let go.

Lust came closer and closer. Finally, she came close enough.

I inhaled deeply and exhaled. Lust flew backward from the strong air. I placed my feet about twelve inches apart and bent my knees slightly. I held my hands out in front of me as if I was holding a box. As my arms went up, so did the sand beneath Lust. It imprisoned her. While she was inside the tomb of sand, I set the sand prison on fire. The sand melted and the sand formed into glass. There's no way she can be alive now but to make sure, I smashed the prison on the ground. Once the glass shattered, I put up a wall of earth to protect the people and the buildings from the flying glass.

Still taking precautions, I walked over slowly with my guard up. I didn't see a body or any remains, so I blew the mounds of glass away. Lust laid at the bottom. She's still conscious and completely unscathed.

She just laughed wearing her smirk. She glared at me and said "You bitch." Then she escaped as she faded with the shade.

My guardian approached me once the area was secure.

"Thank you for letting me handle this on my own." I said with a smile.

Sasuke smiled back. "I'm proud of you. Now… let's clean this up."

I groaned but I obeyed without complaining.

By the time the mess was cleaned up in the city and at the mansion, it was time to catch to catch the plane to Kumogakure.

I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open on the plane. I fell over in my seat and rested my head on Sasuke's shoulder. He ran his fingers through my hair. Although I fell asleep, I could have sworn I heard Sasuke say "I love you."

_To be continued…_


End file.
